You are here

Establishing a Culture of Science

Students will be introduced to solar aircraft. Students will form and write questions about solar aircraft into their Engineering Notebooks setting the stage for future questions.Students will be introduced to a room-sized solar mobile and add additional questions to their engineering notebook.Students will be introduced to the engineering design scenario.

1. Students will evaluate information to describe the impact on society from resource extraction and materials-processing for PV cells.2. Students will communicate their understandings of different impacts from converting natural resources into PV cells through participation in a Socratic Seminar.

Students will develop a model through collaborative inquiry to explain thermal kinetic energy and predict the outcome when heat is added to a substance. Students will build argumentation from evidence skills through collaborative sense-making and gallery walk presentations. Students will develop a model of atomic and molecular structures.

Students will determine how to create various types of circuits in order to power loads with different electric needs.Students will identify the electric needs of a Sphero charger and build a circuit needed to charge this device.

Students will understand that wind energy can be converted into other forms of energy.Students will determine different methods to increase the effectiveness of a wind turbine blade at harnessing and converting the mechanical energy of the wind.

1. Students will investigate variables that may affect the output of an energy conversion device (wave attenuator).
2. Students will interpret data to identify which variables increase electrical output for these model wave attenuators.
3. Students will communicate results from scientific inquiry to identify factors that are important to optimizing the design of a wave attenuator.

Students will identify variables related to the sun heating water such as time of exposure, air temperature, and color of container. Student groups will design and build solar water heater containers using five-gallon water jugs. Students will design containers using color, cover material, and surround as variables. Students will predict which container and location will collect the most heat from the sun.

Students will use their previous learning about observation and solar power to set up an experiment to determine the amount of heat that can be collected in water containers from the sun. Students will determine three variables that affect the jug’s absorption and trapping of energy from the sun. Students will take data measurements from these set ups in order to make evidence-based conclusions from the experiment.

Students will review scientific observations methods learned earlier and the application of those methods for the solar energy unit. Students will practice observations and data recording. Students will explain the importance of selecting useful variables from which they can collect data. Students will be prepared to implement an experiment in the classroom that they can draw conclusions from.

Students will begin to think about various appliances and items that they use and the energy that those items consume. Students will brainstorm ideas of energy sources without worrying about right and wrong answers. Students will create a visual reference for different types of energy resources with their classmates.